[ P ] Soul to Keep

Is ait an mac an saol -
Life is strange.

“In this same vein, I sentence Blythe to death…”

The words ruminated within her pounding head. Her heart was racing as she moved slowly away from the courthouse. The woman’s lip curled in a silent snarl. Who did the judge think she was? What authority did the Royalists have on a Highlander wolfess who vehemently denied their king’s domain, his right to the throne? This was Blythe’s first time in the Mainlands. It was no wonder she had avoided the place her entire life.

A burly guard had been sent to accompany Blythe back to the dungeon for the night: upon morning light, they would hang her — a widow, a mother, someone who had aided many Highlanders throughout her years. The guard’s face was angry and tense.

When Blythe stalled, refusing to walk further, the guard forcibly pushed her onward. She regarded him with rage, barely contained within Blythe as she muttered, ”Nách mór an diabhal thú?”. Aren’t you the devil? The guard appeared confuse — the fool did not speak a word of Gaelic, which was just as well. White paws dragged across the dirt, tail dropping. But her head remained high. They could never take her dignity.

The idea of the enemy stealing away her life was as awful and offensive as the impending prospect of death itself. She thought of her children — at least they were old enough to care for themselves in her absence. Blythe sighed, the tumult of rage and distress causing her aching head to throb. They had not offered her any medical assistance. Now she understood why. They intended for her to die, one way or anything.


@Tiberius

The young male had not found himself within the protests or really knew the reasons for them, and the public displays of the courthouse rulings was something altogether a nightmare to have to endure. "Violator" after "violator", the crown claimed the lives of the commonwealth and others without so much as a care in the world. It was just as though they saw their countrymen and women as numbers. Who cared for their families? Their friends? Their homes? Not the governing officials, and the topic of whether they deserved to be there or not was just another scratch at the surface. Tiberius was not one for the politics, but in his professional opinion, nobody really needed royalty. They were just wolves that put themselves in place due to their own big heads or the money that was in their possession. How is that a reason to be able to rule the lives of others? The Highlander watched the trial, a female with stark white coat and brilliant bright eyes. She stood accused attacking two of the royalists and a civilian. Tiberius listened to the judge saying they would execute her. Execute her? Tiberius could not allow that sort of thing to happen.

Slinking back to the shadows of the courthouse, Tiberius watched as they hauled her out of there, obscenities spouting from her mouth like a waterfall, and for good reason, he might add. He waited for the guards to allow him entrance inside the castle's dungeon. "Please sir, I must see my mother, she is sickly and will probably die behind your irons." He wasn't sure if the guard would believe him, and he did not hear that guests were available to visit, but the guard let him in, and Tiberius thought his performance was one that had deserved an ovation of some kind. He went on his way, following the scent of the one to be hanged. He hadn't caught her name during the trial, so much going on. But he was sure he would be able to get it from her. Finally, he saw a guard standing outside of a cell. That was odd, as none of the other cells had guards watching outside of them. He knew that he would have to do something to get that guard away from the door.

Breathing heavily, Tiberius sprinted into the entryway where the guard was standing, he lowered himself as close to the ground as possible to eliminate his height the best he could. He groveled to the guard, "sir, there is someone trying ti escape down the hall, I wanted to warn you so that you could go stop them!" He was still on the ground as the guard said nothing and jumped over his form, racing through the corridors of cells. He finally got up when he could no longer hear the paw steps of the guard echoing through the halls. He moved to the door, and peered between the bars, "ma'am, surely this is no place for a lady of your... caliber. I offer you, my services. Now you may be thinking 'what sort of service do you offer?' Well, I will tell you!" He puffed up his chest, "I am a mercenary, and will be allowing myself to help you with a very special deal. I did not lie to the guard, as I will be helping you break out of this place.... for a price, of course..."

@Blythe
"He speaks." | He thinks.

table ; bunny

The woman’s face had been bloodied intentionally, and a notch freshly torn from her ear to symbolize her status as doomed to die. Mainlanders had proven be better as brutal and despicable as she imagined. And they called the Highlanders barbarians! But Blythe scarcely seemed to notice these purposeful wounds given to her only moments before. She thought instead of her sons, of Queen Aileen, and—

At first, Blythe believed it was her imagination gone awry. Her personal soldier escort paused to speak to another brute, one that had been absent during her lovely trip to the Mainlands, unmarked from the violence of the day’s protest. The white wolfess narrowed her eyes to see this stranger, who spoke with great assurance about his mother being sick. Silent as a grave, Blythe listened to the exchange with full interest — until word that someone was attempting an escape.

The stranger addressed Blythe with ease and confidence, introducing himself not by name, but by profession: mercenary. He concluded his speech with words Blythe had not anticipated. “as I will be helping you break out of this place....” The Highlander rebel needed no further convincing, and her dull yellow eyes grew wide as she realized this could be her saving grace — whoever he was.

”Yes,” she hissed quietly in return, promising, ”Whatever it takes so they cannot have me, friend.”


@“tiberius”

Tiberius nodded with a smile as she gave him the answer he was looking for. It seemed in the guard's haste of running to stop the other prisoner from escaping, he dropped a very important key. Quickly, Tiberius scooped it up in his maw and used it to easily open the lock. Now, strolling in there had been a breeze, getting out and not getting caught would be the newest problem. "Quietly," he said as he opened the door as quiet as he could. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the guard would return, so they had to move quickly, and he would have to be thinking on his paws. At a moment's notice, he was resting his back against a wall, leading the way as he looked and watched for the guard that would be returning. Passing cell after cell, there were some who were loud and obnoxious, while others sulked in the corner. It was a sad day, and while Tiberius wished he could help more, he had a favor coming his way - so he needed to make sure this his part was completed.

Soon, the guard returned and Tiberius used his form to block the path, so Blythe could not be seen. Luckily, there was a pathway to the side. "I just saw the escaped prisoner! He ran down that way," he said as he pointed away from the criminals. The guard gave a nod of his head and down the path he went. "They really should hire more intelligent soldiers and guards.." he muttered to himself as he turned back towards the female. "Come on, almost there!" He carefully led her through until they would make it to the entrance, that was guarded on the outside. Not sure what they should do, or how they could escape, he turned to her. "Would you attack a guard to be free? I can take one if you can take the other."

@Blythe
"He speaks." | He thinks.

table ; bunny

Is ait an mac an saol -
Life is strange.

Blythe did not need any reminder from the stranger to stay quiet – she could scarcely breathe as the situation loomed like a phantom before her, its enormity too much to bear alone. But to have to trust this unknown brute felt foreign. The false king and his lackeys offered no alternatives. The pale woman moved with graceful urgency, her side brushing up against the cold wall of the prison.

As the rather clueless guard returned, Blythe stopped midstep, with a dainty white paw still hanging in the air. Her breath hitched in her throat. The unknown brute used his again to send the dimwitted guard away. Twin ears perked forward as the stranger addressed her again, and she followed his lead – until it became clear that escape would not be so simple.

As she heaved a deep sigh, the brute asked, "Would you attack a guard to be free? I can take one if you can take the other." Blythe looked at the man with incredulous eyes. Evidently, he had not seen her violent performance in the square; the wolfess was uncertain she had any strength left in her to do as he asked. Still, if it meant freedom, never having to be in the filthy Royalist dungeon, Blythe had few options. The Highlander fae certainly had enough rage to fuel the fire. She responded hastily, ”Ma dh'fheumas mi,” before repeating her response in messy language, in case he could not understand the ancient tongue: ”If I must.”


@Tiberius

"I will do my best to take them both down, but it might be a challenge." His words were soft, so nobody else could hear what he was saying to her. He turned his head back to the guards, watching them carefully. They seemed bored of their tasks, and if the pair could just simply knock them on the head real hard, they might be able to slip away without worrying for a tussle. "For the least amount of disturbance, I think it best to bash their heads against the wall. I can definitely get one, but if we work together, at the same time, then there should be little reaction from one or the other." It was a plan, not really a solid one, but it could suffice just enough. Even if they were only out for a little, it should give enough time for the pair to flee to freedom.

Risk was a special flavor of life that this male utterly enjoyed. It burned a fire in his soul and the idea that he had been able to help a fellow against the crown escape with their lives - oh the enjoyment was astronomical. He could not put an amount to how amazing this felt to him. Tiberius waited for her to give a nod or agreeance before he slunk his large frame towards the guards. He would go for the one to the left, and she for the right. Approaching from behind, Tiberius used his great height and weight to knock the guard against the wall. Luckily, his head did bounce off the side and he fell to the ground. It seemed to have gone by easily, but time will tell when the female decided to act.

@Blythe
"He speaks." | He thinks.

table ; bunny

Is ait an mac an saol -
Life is strange.

Blythe’s orange eyes narrowed as she listened to the male explain his idea, her lips pursing. The violent suggestion seemed like sheer madness at best, and a death sentence at worst. But given that the Highlander woman was already doomed if she remained, she did not bother to open her mouth to argue. And he had a point – if both guards went down, then who could stop their escape?

Besides, the wolfess had taken down three wolves already. What was one more to add to her criminal record? Blythe could only nod in curt agreement, accompanied by a cunning grin as her eyes turned. to the brutish soldier on the right as her would-be rescuer focused upon the wolf on the left. Tiberius wasted no time, and he was a powerful wolf, undoubtedly – one swift movement and the other was out cold.

The other guard looked over, but had no time to respond, not even a howl for backup. Blythe had lowered her head, and using all of her strength, she rammed the soldier into the wall, turning her head at the last moment so that the force of her shoulders could crush the guard to the wall, where his head made a sickening *crack* sound before he, too, was unconscious on the dungeon’s floor.

Her entire body ached, but the rush of the violence was enough to keep Blythe on her paws. An unconscious growl rumbled in her throat as she watched the motionless guard, before wild eyes flashed back to Tiberius. ”Shall we, then?” The pale woman did not bother to wait for a response, and despite her injuries, she ran from the dungeon as if it were in flames.


@Tiberius

Tiberius had taken care of his guard and when he looked over to see if she had done the same, he saw the guard slide down the wall and rest on the floor. Out cold. He smirked to the female, proud that she was able to handle it with what seemed like ease. "Nicely done," he said as she finally asked if he was ready to leave. There was nothing else keeping him here. Before he could even give her a proper answer, she was off and running. He had to admit that she had a lot of gumption. But she must have for the crimes they stated she had done. She was wild and now she was free - all thanks to him. Tiberius was sure that the guards would come looking for the escapee female. They had to get far away and fast. They could go all the way to the Highlands, but that would take too much time, and she might not be able to handle that escape right away. They headed for a thick forest. Tiberius did everything he could to try and cover her scent and his.

It would not be an easy task to do, but he could do it if he thought about it well. As they moved to a more dense part of the forest, he stopped and looked back behind them, listening for the sounds of others following them. There was nothing. Turning his head to face her, "I think we can rest here for now... and I wanted to talk to you about my payment." His voice was low, so nobody that might be nearby could hear what he was saying. He cleared his throat as he looked over her form. "I was impressed with what you did back there, and you are very strong... You don't seem to have a 'someone' in your life, so I will offer to have a child with you or children for your release from prison. What say you?"

@Blythe
"He speaks." | He thinks.

table ; bunny

Is ait an mac an saol -
Life is strange.

Finally, the two had traversed enough land to put space between the pair and the prison, and Blythe slowed to a stop alongside Tiberius, still breathing heavily from exertion. When he mentioned my payment… Blythe looked at him curiously. The Highlander woman was not sure what to expect, but as he spoke, her brows raised questioningly, and she remained quiet. And certainly, the man’s unexpected idea — his offer, as he presented it — was not anything Blythe had anticipated. She repeated his request incredulously. ”A child?”

Blythe had birthed pups before — she had not wanted it then, but she had accepted the situation and her offspring. She had done what was expected of her. Now, they were grown, and she had no obligations. The offer ruminated within her skull. They hardly knew each other… but Tiberius didn’t expect any romantic exchanges, clearly, which was just as well. Blythe had no interest in such nonsense.

Eyes like a brilliant sunset roamed the male’s physique. He was an enormous beast — even larger than her deceased husband had been. But Blythe was older than she had been that first time. With a sigh, her pounding head nodded slowly.

A life for a life. It was fair. Blythe had offered anything… but it happen on her terms.

”So it will be. The winter is over now,” she offered with a thought expression — she had not yet discovered that hapless couples were accidentally still conceiving pups, despite the change of seasons. ”I will find you when the time is right.”

”But whatever the outcome, anything that comes of this favor will be yours,” she said simply and without further explanation. These would belong to Tiberius alone, whether there were one pups or six of them. Blythe had no interest in rearing any more young — she had other business to attend in the form of a brewing war. Jacob was more important than genetics or legacy.

There was always a chance she would be dead by then, anyway, and unable to repay this favor. For now, the wolfess lowered herself to the ground, wincing as she was reminded of her aching body and head. The snowy woman cast the almost-stranger a final glance — apprehensive, but accepting — before she succumbed to an uneasy slumber.

[exit via sleeps]


@Tiberius